Contactless payment options are driving new business

The adoption of contactless payment technologies is on the rise as a result of the growing consumer appetite for fast and flexible digital experiences. Due to health and safety concerns, businesses are now turning to contactless payment solutions and other digital tools.

According to the Visa Back to Business study, more than 60% of consumers would switch to a business that offers contactless payment options. In contrast, nearly 50% of the respondents said they would stop shopping at stores that only offered payment methods that relied on contact with a cashier or shared machine.

This sentiment is carried over into the retail space which sees more than 70% of respondents having used a new online shopping or cashless payment method. Additionally, more than 33% of consumers stated that they had shopped for groceries or household items online for the first time, and 28% of consumers stated that they moved to ordering food online due to the curb side pickup feature.

Mobile apps

To ensure future growth, businesses will need to embrace contactless tap-and-go payments and online shopping by incorporating cashless payment options within their mobile app development projects. There has been a huge increase in app-based contactless payment options such as QR codes and digital wallets like Apple Pay and they are expected to gain traction within the ecommerce space.

Meeting customer expectations

Contactless delivery app development enables traditional retailers to continue conducting their core business operations whilst providing products and services to customers. It not only helps maintain the safety of customers, but also meets customer expectations and requirements. More importantly, it will help businesses gain a good reputation, giving them an edge over competitors.

Understanding the user requirements

Before starting the contactless payment app development process, it is critical to understand the various mobile wallet options available, the user requirements needed, and which payment options would be most suitable.

Here is a list of mobile app contactless payment options that can be considered:

Mobile wallets

Mobile wallets like Apple Pay, Google Pay and Samsung Pay are one of the most secure ways to pay. There is no transaction limit as long as the digital wallet can authenticate payments via biometrics such as fingerprints or face recognition. They all work via smartphone apps.

Online payments

This is the most popular payment method using a debit or credit card via a payment gateway. There are numerous payment gateways available to integrate with a mobile wallet. Customers can load and send money to and from a wallet using a debit or credit card.

QR code payment

This is a contactless payment method where payment is performed by scanning a QR code from a mobile app.

Wearables

The growing number of wearables are adding features like contactless payments with wearable apps.

Virtual terminals

This is a secure webpage that enables the merchant to enter card details on behalf of the customer to process a transaction, especially when the customer is not present. This method is mostly used for taking payments over the phone or by mail order.

Contactless is the solution

Digital transformation has changed the world and every business must embrace the contactless payment frameworks when developing an ecommerce site or mobile app. Paying with a smartphone is the way forward as an increasing number of retailers are already using NFC-based contactless pay terminals.

PayFast has seen a 143% increase in mobile payments as more consumers start to shop online using their smartphones. The company recorded a 412% growth in QR code payments over the past year. It also saw an 83% increase in total payment volumes and registered over 40 000 new merchant accounts.

Apple Pay also went live in South Africa with Absa, Nedbank and Discovery Bank cards. Apple Pay is a payment and digital wallet system that iPhone, iPad, Mac and Apple Watch users can use to pay online on various apps and at Tap and Pay NFC terminals.

According to the Mastercard New Payments Index, an astonishing 95% of South African consumers have indicated that they will consider using at least one emerging payment method, such as contactless, QR code, biometric or cryptocurrency.